US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington would use "all
elements of its power" to prevent Iran going nuclear and was working
in "close consultation" with Israel over how to do so.

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And she said a resumption of talks between Israel and the
Palestinians would only come about if the parties "do the hard work
for peace."

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Speaking to reporters at the end of a whirlwind 24-hour visit to
Jerusalem, Clinton said that Iran not yet decided to curb its nuclear
ambitions, and warned that Washington would stop at nothing to
prevent it from getting a nuclear bomb.

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"We will use all elements of American power to prevent Iran obtaining
a nuclear weapon," she said in remarks which carried an implied
threat of military action -- a course of action never ruled out by
Washington.

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Thanks to US efforts to rally the international community to tackle
the Iranian nuclear threat, Tehran was "under greater pressure than
ever before," Clinton said, indicating that the Obama administration
was "pressing forward in close consultation with Israel."

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"I think it is fair to say we are on the same page at this moment,
trying to figure our way forward to have the maximum impact on
affecting the decisions that Iran makes," Clinton said.

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Clinton arrived in Israel late on Sunday at the tail end of a nine-
nation tour, holding talks with top officials including Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, Defence Minister
Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

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Although Israel has warned a nuclear Iran would pose an existential
threat to the Jewish state and has refused to rule out a military
strike on its nuclear facilities, Peres expressed confidence in
Washington´s tough stance on Tehran.

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"I think the coalition we have built, and the measures you have taken
are beginning to have their impact... they are the right start," he
told Clinton.

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"We appreciate very much your position. We trust its depth and
dedication and determination and we feel partners of this coalition."

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The US diplomat also briefed the Israelis on her talks with Egypt´s
new Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and sought to reassure them that
the new Cairo administration had reaffirmed support for the peace
treaty which she said had "served as a backbone for regional
stability for more than three decades."

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There has been some concern in Israel that Morsi, who emerged out of
the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, might seek to renegotiate the treaty.
In talks with Peres, Clinton updated him on "the latest developments
and the approaches of the new Egyptian leadership, and stressed the
importance of strengthening the relations between Israel and Egypt,"
the president´s office said.

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The stalled peace process was also high on the agenda, with Clinton
reportedly telling Israel that Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and
his prime minister Salam Fayyad were the best peace partners Israel
could have, the website of Haaretz newspaper reported, quoting an
Israeli official at the talks.

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And she also reportedly pushed Israel to make gestures to strengthen
the Palestinian leader, Israeli press reports said.

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But ultimately, a return to peace talks would be dependent on "hard
work" by the two parties, she told reporters at a late-night press
conference.

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"We remain focused on the resumption of direct negotiations since we
believe that is the only route to a lasting stable peace. The
international community can help ... we stand ready to do so, to help
support an environment for talks but it´s up to the parties to do the
hard work for peace," she said.

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"To those who say the timing isn´t right, the other side has to move
first, or the trust just isn´t there, I say: peace won´t wait and the
responsibility falls on all of us to keep pressing forward."

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She also met with Fayyad in Jerusalem, describing their meeting
as "excellent" and saying the Palestinian premier had briefed her
on "the challenges that the Palestinian Authority faces and what the
United States can do to support them."

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A senior US administration official said she had discussed efforts to
move forward with the peace process and had pledged "to continue US
efforts to ensure that donor commitments to the Palestinian Authority
are met."

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Ahead of his dinner meeting with Clinton, Netanyahu thanked her for
helping shore up Israel´s ties with Egypt and said he was keen to
hear about her talks with President Morsi in Cairo.

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He also said the two would discuss ways to break the deadlock in
peace talks with the Palestinians.

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Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been
frozen for nearly two years following an intractable dispute over
Jewish settlement building.

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Throughout the day, Clinton stressed the need for Israel and
Washington to work closely together on the challenges arising from
the huge political change sweeping the region.

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"It is a time of uncertainty but also of opportunity," she said on
meeting Peres. "It is in moments like these that friends like us have
to think together, act together."